Michael Roberts, a Louisiana fisherman whose livelihood has been destroyed by the Gulf oil spill writes about his experience. Here’s an excerpt:
"I tried not to let my grandson, Scottie, see me crying. I didn’t think he would understand, that I was crying for his stolen future. None of this will be the same, for decades to come. The damage is going to be immense and I do not think our lives here in south Louisiana will ever be the same."
Here’s the link to his story.
With all the talk of BP, clean up technology, and how the Obama administration has or has not effectively mitigated the situation, the human impact has often been overlooked.
The human impact: another argument for keeping the BC coast oil free. Visit the Living Oceans Society website for more information about the moratorium on offshore oil and gas in B.C.
Showing posts with label Environment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Environment. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Friday, February 5, 2010
Natural Carbon Sequestration in Our Coastal Waters
Scientific explanations of climate change facts can be confusing for us all. I decided to do some reading to see if I could wrap my brain around some of the facts, and I discovered that I had a lot to learn! I was particularly interested in finding out more about coastal habitats such as seagrass beds and saltmarshes sequestering carbon. This sounds important and amazing - but I did not have a clue what it meant! So after some digging, I discovered just how natural carbon sequestration in coastal habitats works. Here is what I discovered.
Carbon Cycle
It all starts with the carbon cycle, which is the movement of carbon atoms through all things on the planet: the atmosphere, living and non-living organic material, our bodies, oceans, sediments (including fossil fuels) and the Earth’s core. There is a balance between these major reservoirs of carbon. Some things, like volcanic eruptions and burning fossil fuels, increase the amount of carbon in circulation in the atmosphere and oceans. Other natural processes like photosynthesis remove and store it. Plants take carbon from the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide, and through photosynthesis turn it into the sugars and carbohydrates that form plant material. Some of this carbon in plants is consumed by other animals that use the carbon to build their own bodies. Some carbon returns to the atmosphere and oceans or into soil or marine sediments as life forms decompose. Although the carbon cycle is on the move, the proportion of carbon that is in our oceans or atmosphere has been pretty steady over the years, allowing the species that depend upon it to evolve based on its presence in set concentrations.
Sequestration of Carbon
The carbon cycle makes it seem as though carbon is always on the move, but much of our planet's carbon has been stored for millions of years, in fossil fuels, and for hundreds of years in large trees. So you can see why cutting down trees and burning fossil fuels has upset the carbon balance: It is all back in in the atmosphere and oceans! What is needed, in addition to to halting the burning of fossil fuels, are actions like protecting and increasing forest cover and supporting other processes that take carbon out of circulation from the air and water then store in a stable solid form. There are many schemes to artificially sequester carbon, but most of them are so energy intensive that they would create as much of a carbon footprint as they elevate, some would take to long to be useful on a massive scale, and others have been banned from consideration due to unknown side effects that could be worse than the problems we are starting with!
Natural Carbon Sequestration
Natural carbon sequestration is carbon stored by plants and animals. The most effective form is when terrestrial and marine plants sequester carbon into the soil or sediments around their roots in a mineral form, storing it for thousands of years or more. These carbon sequestering plants are extremely important for reducing the amount of carbon circulating in the atmosphere and oceans. Of these, the marine coastal habitats such as mangroves, salt marsh and sea grass do this job the best. Marine species sequester the same overall amount of carbon as terrestrial species, even though there is 99.95% less plant material in the oceans doing the same job. This is due to special chemical processes in marine sediments. (This means half a kilogram of marine plant material can sequester as much carbon as 1,000 kgs of plant material on land)
Protecting Seagrass and Saltmarsh
Seventy percent of the marine plants that naturally sequester carbon are found in coastal areas such as seagrass meadows and salt marshes. Much of these areas have been lost since the 1940s due to coastal development, and have been damaged by run off from agricultural and industrial activities. Scientists of the United Nations Environment Program recommended to the 2009 Copenhagen Climate Change Conference that 80 percent of the world’s remaining seagrass and salt marsh habitat be protected as an important step among the range of strategies necessary to combat global climate change and ocean acidification.
So given that we know what to do - why aren't we doing it?
There is one thing you can do right now that would only take one minute. Send a letter to our Minister of Fisheries and Oceans - telling her about the importance of protecting these critical habitats with marine protected areas in order to ensure that they keep on sequestering carbon.
Information about natural carbon sequestration (if you want more) is also available in these reports.
* IUCN: The Management of Natural Coastal Carbon Sinks
* UNEP: Blue Carbon Report
Carbon Cycle
It all starts with the carbon cycle, which is the movement of carbon atoms through all things on the planet: the atmosphere, living and non-living organic material, our bodies, oceans, sediments (including fossil fuels) and the Earth’s core. There is a balance between these major reservoirs of carbon. Some things, like volcanic eruptions and burning fossil fuels, increase the amount of carbon in circulation in the atmosphere and oceans. Other natural processes like photosynthesis remove and store it. Plants take carbon from the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide, and through photosynthesis turn it into the sugars and carbohydrates that form plant material. Some of this carbon in plants is consumed by other animals that use the carbon to build their own bodies. Some carbon returns to the atmosphere and oceans or into soil or marine sediments as life forms decompose. Although the carbon cycle is on the move, the proportion of carbon that is in our oceans or atmosphere has been pretty steady over the years, allowing the species that depend upon it to evolve based on its presence in set concentrations.
Sequestration of Carbon
The carbon cycle makes it seem as though carbon is always on the move, but much of our planet's carbon has been stored for millions of years, in fossil fuels, and for hundreds of years in large trees. So you can see why cutting down trees and burning fossil fuels has upset the carbon balance: It is all back in in the atmosphere and oceans! What is needed, in addition to to halting the burning of fossil fuels, are actions like protecting and increasing forest cover and supporting other processes that take carbon out of circulation from the air and water then store in a stable solid form. There are many schemes to artificially sequester carbon, but most of them are so energy intensive that they would create as much of a carbon footprint as they elevate, some would take to long to be useful on a massive scale, and others have been banned from consideration due to unknown side effects that could be worse than the problems we are starting with!
Natural Carbon Sequestration
Natural carbon sequestration is carbon stored by plants and animals. The most effective form is when terrestrial and marine plants sequester carbon into the soil or sediments around their roots in a mineral form, storing it for thousands of years or more. These carbon sequestering plants are extremely important for reducing the amount of carbon circulating in the atmosphere and oceans. Of these, the marine coastal habitats such as mangroves, salt marsh and sea grass do this job the best. Marine species sequester the same overall amount of carbon as terrestrial species, even though there is 99.95% less plant material in the oceans doing the same job. This is due to special chemical processes in marine sediments. (This means half a kilogram of marine plant material can sequester as much carbon as 1,000 kgs of plant material on land)
Protecting Seagrass and Saltmarsh
Seventy percent of the marine plants that naturally sequester carbon are found in coastal areas such as seagrass meadows and salt marshes. Much of these areas have been lost since the 1940s due to coastal development, and have been damaged by run off from agricultural and industrial activities. Scientists of the United Nations Environment Program recommended to the 2009 Copenhagen Climate Change Conference that 80 percent of the world’s remaining seagrass and salt marsh habitat be protected as an important step among the range of strategies necessary to combat global climate change and ocean acidification.
So given that we know what to do - why aren't we doing it?
There is one thing you can do right now that would only take one minute. Send a letter to our Minister of Fisheries and Oceans - telling her about the importance of protecting these critical habitats with marine protected areas in order to ensure that they keep on sequestering carbon.
Information about natural carbon sequestration (if you want more) is also available in these reports.
* IUCN: The Management of Natural Coastal Carbon Sinks
* UNEP: Blue Carbon Report
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Environmental Disaster? or...Welcome Habitat for Endangered Species
This is an article published in The Onion in 2002. This is typical of the satiric articles written at the Onion. Consider this our Halloween Howl posting. Happy reading!
Sunken Oil Tanker Will Be Habitat For Marine Life, Shell Executives Say With Straight Face
October 23, 2002 | Issue 38•39
HOUSTON, TX—The 1,080-foot, 300,000-ton oil tanker Shell Global Explorer, which sank off the coast of Newfoundland last month, will provide a welcome habitat for many diverse species of endangered marine life, Shell Oil Company executives announced with a straight face Tuesday.
The new habitat, mo
ments before sinking.
"In its new resting place, far beneath the surface of the North Atlantic, the Global Explorer is host to countless fish and an infinite variety of marine vegetation," a press release from Shell read without a trace of irony. "A ship that once helped run life above the waves now houses life beneath them."
The reading of the press release preceded public statements from Shell executives.
"We in the petroleum industry have long believed that we have a responsibility to protect and conserve the environment in our daily business operations," said Shell CEO Steven L. Miller to reporters in the face of all available evidence. "We view this commitment to projects that will conserve and protect the marine ecosystem as an important investment in our future."
"At Shell, we're proud to provide a niche for the struggling denizens of our oceans," said Shell vice-president of international shipping Dennis Gallsworthy, who apparently intended his words to be taken seriously.
Somehow maintaining his composure despite being able to hear the things he was saying, Gallsworthy added, "We have a strong commitment to protecting and preserving sea life."
On Sept. 27, radio messages from the tanker indicated it had suffered extensive damage to its hull following an explosion, which pierced its overloaded crude-oil tanks. By the time the ship slid to the bottom, Shell public-relations officials were touting its potential as an artificial habitat, often while looking straight into reporters' eyes.
"The many species of fish native to Newfoundland's Grand Banks have in recent years increasingly struggled to find feeding and breeding grounds," Miller said, as if Shell were deeply concerned with these circumstances and not, in fact, partially at fault for them. "We must take all available steps to help reestablish these species in their native waters."
Hoping to both deflect blame and take an opportunity for self-promotion, Miller took aim at the commercial fishing industry without so much as a smirk.
"The Global Explorer's new resting place will provide shelter for countless threatened, often over-harvested fish," he said. "At Shell, we're proud to use our multibillion-dollar, globe-spanning resources to aid a worthy environmental cause."
To see the rest of the article, click here.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yes, it's a good chuckle. But what isn't so funny is that on our coast, shipments of crude oil have been increasing. Last year, thirty-four crude oil tankers were loaded through Westridge Marine Terminal in Burrard Inlet. And I would hazard that it is more a question of when there will be an accident, rather than if.
If you consider the number of near misses there have been in the last ten years, we've been incredibly lucky. And if proposed pipeline expansions go ahead, it may be that our luck will run out.
To find out more about the proposed BC pipeline expansion project, visit our website at http://www.livingoceans.org/programs/energy/tankers/industry.aspx
Sunken Oil Tanker Will Be Habitat For Marine Life, Shell Executives Say With Straight Face
October 23, 2002 | Issue 38•39
HOUSTON, TX—The 1,080-foot, 300,000-ton oil tanker Shell Global Explorer, which sank off the coast of Newfoundland last month, will provide a welcome habitat for many diverse species of endangered marine life, Shell Oil Company executives announced with a straight face Tuesday.
The new habitat, mo
ments before sinking."In its new resting place, far beneath the surface of the North Atlantic, the Global Explorer is host to countless fish and an infinite variety of marine vegetation," a press release from Shell read without a trace of irony. "A ship that once helped run life above the waves now houses life beneath them."
The reading of the press release preceded public statements from Shell executives.
"We in the petroleum industry have long believed that we have a responsibility to protect and conserve the environment in our daily business operations," said Shell CEO Steven L. Miller to reporters in the face of all available evidence. "We view this commitment to projects that will conserve and protect the marine ecosystem as an important investment in our future."
"At Shell, we're proud to provide a niche for the struggling denizens of our oceans," said Shell vice-president of international shipping Dennis Gallsworthy, who apparently intended his words to be taken seriously.
Somehow maintaining his composure despite being able to hear the things he was saying, Gallsworthy added, "We have a strong commitment to protecting and preserving sea life."
On Sept. 27, radio messages from the tanker indicated it had suffered extensive damage to its hull following an explosion, which pierced its overloaded crude-oil tanks. By the time the ship slid to the bottom, Shell public-relations officials were touting its potential as an artificial habitat, often while looking straight into reporters' eyes.
"The many species of fish native to Newfoundland's Grand Banks have in recent years increasingly struggled to find feeding and breeding grounds," Miller said, as if Shell were deeply concerned with these circumstances and not, in fact, partially at fault for them. "We must take all available steps to help reestablish these species in their native waters."
Hoping to both deflect blame and take an opportunity for self-promotion, Miller took aim at the commercial fishing industry without so much as a smirk.
"The Global Explorer's new resting place will provide shelter for countless threatened, often over-harvested fish," he said. "At Shell, we're proud to use our multibillion-dollar, globe-spanning resources to aid a worthy environmental cause."
To see the rest of the article, click here.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yes, it's a good chuckle. But what isn't so funny is that on our coast, shipments of crude oil have been increasing. Last year, thirty-four crude oil tankers were loaded through Westridge Marine Terminal in Burrard Inlet. And I would hazard that it is more a question of when there will be an accident, rather than if.
If you consider the number of near misses there have been in the last ten years, we've been incredibly lucky. And if proposed pipeline expansions go ahead, it may be that our luck will run out.
To find out more about the proposed BC pipeline expansion project, visit our website at http://www.livingoceans.org/programs/energy/tankers/industry.aspx
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Malcolm Island's TD Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup!
Saturday, September 26th dawned clear, sunny and warm - perfect weather to get the 37 participants of our "trash teams" out onto our shoreline here in Sointula and Mitchell Bay to try and make a dent in the ever growing piles of flotsam and jetsam that seems to crowd the shores of Malcolm Island.
This was all part of the TD Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup, sponsored by the Vancouver Aquarium and, under the auspices of The Ocean Conservancy, part of an international effort to clear debris from shorelines around the world.
For the Malcolm Island event we had help and sponsorship from Living Oceans Society, The Malcolm Island Lions Club, Sointula Recreation Association and the Regional District of Mount Waddington.
Our hard working volunteers (and their pickup trucks) managed to get an estimated 1875 kilograms of junk off the beaches. Over 80 % went to the 7 Mile Recycling depot/landfill while the rest was directed to the Malcolm Island landfill. Any scrap metal, tires, batteries, recyclable plastics and returnables were sorted from the general trash and destined to be recycled.
In Mitchell Bay/Donegal Head area at the south end of Malcolm Island, 12 volunteers collected a huge pickup truck of trash.
This was the first time that Mitchell Bay had been cleaned up during a TDGCSC event although there is a lot of people all over the island who take it upon themselves to clean up the beaches throughout the year.
A huge thanks to everybody who participated this year.
When the final all Canadian cleanup statiistics come in sometime in October I will post the data on Coastal Voices.
Here are a few photo
s
taken on Saturday.
Monday, September 14, 2009
The TD Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup!
I hate to break this to you, folks but recent studies have shown that our oceans have become incredibly huge repositories of garbage for both the developed and developing worlds.
Most of the marine debris in the world is comprised of plastic materials. The average proportion varies between 60 to 80% of total marine debris and nearly 80% of this debris comes from land-based sources.
Several earlier postings on Coastal Voices have touched on the "garbage patch" out in the North Pacific Gyre which is actually more of a thin soup of plastic fragments as well as larger pieces of flotsam and jetsam.
It is, as one journalist described it, humanity's own Giant Gyre of Junk!
While it is probably logistically too difficult to go out 1000 miles into the Pacific to attempt to clean up this mess we can all help out here closer to home to try and stem the flow of man made junk getting onto our beaches and further out to sea.
To that end one thing we can all do is to get involved with the TD Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup, one of the largest conservation initiatives of the Vancouver Aquarium. What started out as a small beach cleanup conducted by a handful of Vancouver Aquarium employees has now grown into the second largest cleanup in the world. ( The U.S. is in first place - for now!)
So, here in Sointula, Living Oceans Society will be coordinating our community's participation in one of the largest contributors to the International Coastal Cleanup in the world.
What we have done in recent years and are planning for this year is to have volunteers come out on Saturday, September 26, get into small informal groups and hit the beaches, locating and picking up debris.
Your humble scribe for this blog posting, Vern Sampson, will be the coordinator for the Malcolm Island/Sointula beach cleanup. We already have some teams who have come forward with crew and pickup trucks. The Rough Bay Bunch have already staked out their coastal cleanup turf!
What we will be looking for are some Downtown Debris Dynamos and the Kaleva Kleanup Krowd! (Who came up with these names, anyway?)
Look for posters around town with more details or contact me at 250 973-6580, 250 973-2078 or: vsampson@livingoceans.org
If there are folks from other communities who wish to get into some friendly competition or wish to know more about what you or your group can do in your community in the cleanup campaign, by all means contact me or check out the TD Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup link above.
I'll post more details on Sointula's efforts in the next few days.
Most of the marine debris in the world is comprised of plastic materials. The average proportion varies between 60 to 80% of total marine debris and nearly 80% of this debris comes from land-based sources.
Several earlier postings on Coastal Voices have touched on the "garbage patch" out in the North Pacific Gyre which is actually more of a thin soup of plastic fragments as well as larger pieces of flotsam and jetsam.
It is, as one journalist described it, humanity's own Giant Gyre of Junk!
While it is probably logistically too difficult to go out 1000 miles into the Pacific to attempt to clean up this mess we can all help out here closer to home to try and stem the flow of man made junk getting onto our beaches and further out to sea.
To that end one thing we can all do is to get involved with the TD Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup, one of the largest conservation initiatives of the Vancouver Aquarium. What started out as a small beach cleanup conducted by a handful of Vancouver Aquarium employees has now grown into the second largest cleanup in the world. ( The U.S. is in first place - for now!)
So, here in Sointula, Living Oceans Society will be coordinating our community's participation in one of the largest contributors to the International Coastal Cleanup in the world.
What we have done in recent years and are planning for this year is to have volunteers come out on Saturday, September 26, get into small informal groups and hit the beaches, locating and picking up debris.
Your humble scribe for this blog posting, Vern Sampson, will be the coordinator for the Malcolm Island/Sointula beach cleanup. We already have some teams who have come forward with crew and pickup trucks. The Rough Bay Bunch have already staked out their coastal cleanup turf!
What we will be looking for are some Downtown Debris Dynamos and the Kaleva Kleanup Krowd! (Who came up with these names, anyway?)
Look for posters around town with more details or contact me at 250 973-6580, 250 973-2078 or: vsampson@livingoceans.org
If there are folks from other communities who wish to get into some friendly competition or wish to know more about what you or your group can do in your community in the cleanup campaign, by all means contact me or check out the TD Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup link above.
I'll post more details on Sointula's efforts in the next few days.
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